Families our fun neighborhood activitiy guide.

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Welcome Families!
Explore one of the most dynamic New York neighborhoods:
The Lower East Side (LES).
For many immigrants, the LES represents their first home in America.
Throughout its history, its diverse inhabitants hailed from Holland, Germany,
Ireland, Italy, Poland, Russia, Puerto Rico, Dominican Republic, and China.
Whether escaping persecution, famine and war, or in search of economic
opportunity, all were united in their desire to create a better life in America.
As you walk the streets of this gateway neighborhood,
consider how its buildings tell the stories of its residents, past and present.
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The attached map includes a selection of neighborhood sites, fun facts, and suggested activities.
Use the map to pick which sites are of interest to you and your family. Whether you decide to play in outdoor
parks, sample tasty treats, or visit sacred sites, your LES walk is sure to be a unique multicultural experience.
As you walk the streets, look closely to uncover this gateway neighborhood’s varied layers of history. Imagine
what it would have been like to live in the LES during its illustrious past and consider if it’s the kind of place you
would want to live in today. Take note of the language being spoken and appearing on its signs. Notice what is
being sold on the streets and in the shops. Check out the street names as many provide clues to the area’s past
when it used to be part of James de Lancey’s farm, the largest estate held by a single family in Manhattan and
encompassing 120 city blocks!
To access this map via Google Maps, go to:
http://www.google.com/maps/ms?ie=UTF8&msa=0&msid=11014166811
8796168040.000466750310e1ee5094a&z=15
Some of the best ways to learn about the past is through images. Photograph your family’s
adventure to create your own historical record of the LES. Share your photos in our
neighborhood gallery at: http://www.flickr.com/groups/museum_at_eldridge_street_families/
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Begin your neighborhood walking tour across the street from the
landmark Eldridge Street Synagogue. Today, surrounded by
Chinese noodle shops and a Buddhist temple, the Eldridge
Street Synagogue stands as a great vestige of the large wave
of East European Jewish immigration a century ago. The
plentiful stars of David decorating the building’s façade
proclaim its Jewish identity and evoke the time when this area
was known as Jewtown instead of Chinatown. In its heyday,
Eldridge Street was filled with Jews, and Yiddish could be seen
in storefront signs, and heard on the streets.
As you explore the neighborhood, you will find many clues to its
former tenants and its historic evolution. From this vantage, you
can also glimpse life beyond the Lower East Side in the Chrysler
building to the north and the Manhattan Bridge to the south.
VISIT the Museum at Eldridge Street for a guided tour to learn more about the Jewish
immigrants living in the LES. See for yourself the Yiddish signs that used to hang in the
neighborhood and read headlines from the popular newspapers. Uncover the history of the
building’s magnificent architecture, along with the story of the immigrants who built it and
gathered here on our Preservation Detectives Family Program, every Sunday at 1pm.
For more information, visit www.eldridgestreet.org or call 212.219.0302x2.
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1. Aji Ichiban 23 East Broadway, between Catherine and Market.
Aji Ichiban is Japanese for “superior taste.” This candy store
is filled with surprising munchies ranging from preserved
fruit, to fish and flowers. Sample them all for free and see
what new snack might become your favorite.
2. Alleva 188 Grand, corner of Mulberry.
When you enter Alleva, your nose fills with the aroma of
imported cheeses, salamis, and sausages and your eyes can
feast upon the original tiling and painted glass
advertisements of the oldest cheese market in America,
established in 1892.
3. Chinatown Ice Cream Factory
65 Bayard, between Mott and Bowery.
The Chinatown Ice Cream Factory adds a Chinese twist to
American’s most popular dessert. Flavors range from
traditional vanilla to green tea, red bean, and wasabi.
4. DiPalo's Fine Foods 200 Grand, at the corner of Chrystie.
Savino DiPalo opened this latteria, or dairy store, in Little
Italy in 1910. Today his grandson Lou continues his tradition
and helps to preserve the foods of his homeland, Basilicata,
Italy by importing its cheese, olive oil and other fine foods.
5. Economy Candy 108 Rivington, between Essex and Ludlow.
Known as the "Nosher's Paradise,” Economy Candy has been
serving up snacks since 1937. This old-time store still sells the
bulk treats of the past, along with contemporary confections.
6. Essex Street Market
80 Essex, between Delancey andRivington.
When it opened in January of 1940, this market
transformed the LES streets bringing its bustling sidewalk
economy indoors. The Market originally housed 475 stalls
and spanned several more blocks. Today, merchants’
wares range from yucca to ethnic jewelry, hand-rolled
truffles, cheese, and fresh fish. Closed on Sundays.
7. Ferrara’s Bakery & Café 195 Grand, between Mulberry
and Mott. For four generations, the Ferrara family has
Pushcart Shopping
been making Italian desserts like cannoli, stogliatella,
gelati and more right here since 1892.
8. Golden Unicorn
18 East Broadway, between Catherine and Market.
Dubbed the “Dim Sum Palace” because of its
fantastic Dim Sum offerings carted around by
waitresses and its gold and pink color scheme,
Golden Unicorn is an ultimate Chinatown
experience.
Courtesy of NYPL
Essex Street Market
9. Joe Shanghai 9 Pell, between Doyers and the Bowery.
Joe is famous for perfectly symmetrical little
dumplings called Xiao Long Bao, whose shape
resembles a pagoda. These tender pouches are
freshly made to order and arrive at the table in
piping hot bamboo steamers.
10. Katz’s Delicatessen 205 Houston, at Ludlow.
Courtesy of NYPL
Katz’s Deli
Established in 1888 as a small kosher butcher shop,
today Katz’s is the oldest deli in New York. Although
no longer kosher, Katz's remains an iconic reminder
of the Jewish LES. Make sure to explore its façade
and interior design to see the many people that
enjoyed their salami throughout the years.
11. Kossar’s Bialys367 Grand, between Suffolk and Clinton.
Bialy is a small roll. It is also the abbreviated
Yiddish word for a person from Białystok, a city in
Poland where some claim the food originates.
Kossar's has been handcrafting its prizewinning
bialys along with bulkas, pletzels and sesame sticks
for over 65 years. Closed on Saturdays.
Courtesy of NYPL
Dumplings
12. Noah’s Ark 399 Grand, between Suffolk and Clinton.
Noah’s Ark has become an iconic reminder of the
thriving Jewish community of the LES. It is the only
kosher deli in the area. Closed on Saturdays.
Courtesy of Public Domain
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13. Shalom Chai Pizza 357 Grand, off Clinton.
Shalom Chai is a popular hang-out for the Orthodox Jewish
community living in the area. Stop in to chat with the oldtimers and to enjoy a quick slice. Closed on Saturdays.
14. The Pickle Guys, 49 Essex, between Grand and Hester.
Essex Street used to be the pickle capital of the United
States. Today The Pickle Guys is carrying on this eastern
European tradition, filling its barrels with a variety of
pickled delights.
15. Vanessa’s Dumpling House
118 Eldridge, between Broome and Grand.
Vanessa’s serves tasty and inexpensive Chinese dumplings
along with soups and sesame pancake sandwiches. Order
your food and watch it made from behind the counter. You
can even purchase bags of frozen treats to make at home.
16. Yonah Schimmel Knish Bakery
137 Houston, between Forsyth and Eldridge.
Rabbi Yonah Schimmel, a Bulgarian immigrant couldn’t
make enough money from his religious profession and
opened this knishery in 1910. Home of The World’s Finest
Knishes, this bakery offers the traditional Eastern European
potato and kasha knish, along with Spanish influenced
varieties like jalapeno, testifying to changing LES tastes.
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17. Big Jack’s Headquarters
286 Broome, between Eldridge and Allen.
Big Jack Zelig was a notorious gangster in New York’s
underworld of 1900s. He started out as a pickpocket, then
became a jewelry thief, and by the early 20th century,
headed a gang that lorded over the LES.
18. Educational Alliance (EA) 197 East Broadway at Grand.
The EA is a community center established in 1889 to
help immigrants “Americanize.” The center offered
language and art classes, a free library, and even
dance and cooking classes. This building, which
opened in 1891, still serves the largely immigrant
population of the neighborhood.
19. Forward Building
Yonah Shimmel Knish Bakery
Courtesy of www.knisherycom
175 East Broadway between Jefferson and Rutgers.
The most popular socialist Yiddish daily newspaper
the Forverts, or Forward, was founded in 1897 by
Abraham Cahan. This building, its former home, was
a popular meeting place for political activists and
many would gather here on election night to view
results projected on its white façade. Today, the
building has been converted into condominiums, but
you can still see signs of its past use in its Yiddish
name written under the clock, as well as in the
golden medallions of socialist icons Marx, Engels,
Lassalle, and Bebel.
Education Alliance
Courtesy of Library of Congress
Forward Building
20. Henry Street Settlement
265 Henry, between Pitt and Grand.
Henry Street has been serving the LES community for
over a century. Founded by Lillian Wald in 1893,
the institution was dedicated to teaching health and
hygiene, along with English and arts to the new
immigrants. Henry Street nurses were famous for
traveling from tenement rooftop to rooftop to treat
patients.
Courtesy of Municipal Archives
Forward Newsboys
21. Italian American Museum(IAM)
155 Mulberry, at Grand.
Located in an old bank in the center of Little Italy,
IAM presents the history and heritage of the Italians
in America. Visit to learn about Italian culture and its
contributions to American life.
Courtesy of Library of Congress
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22. Jarmulowsky’s Bank 58 Canal, southwest corner of Orchard.
Constructed in 1912, this was once the tallest structure on
the LES. Its founder, Sender Jarmulowsky, whose name still
appears under the building’s capital, was the founding
president of the Eldridge Street congregation. This bank
served the community until a disastrous run in 1917. When
its doors closed, it owed millions in debt.
23. Loew’s Canal St. Theater 31 Canal, between Ludlow and Essex.
This popular movie theater, built in the 1920s, was one of the
few air-conditioned buildings on the LES. Although it is no
longer used as a theater, if you look up at its terracottaglazed windows, you can notice signs of its original purpose.
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24. The Lower East Side Tenement Museum
108 Orchard, between Broome and Delancey.
Experience the harsh conditions of tenement living. Visit the
museum and hear the stories of immigrants who lived in 97
Orchard Street, a tenement built in 1863.
25. Museum of the Chinese in the Americas (MOCA)
215 Centre, at Grand.
Explore the history and heritage of the Chinese in America.
The Museum’s collection comprises more than 60,000 artifacts
and includes interpretive exhibits highlighting Chinese culture.
MOCA will open this new building in Spring 2009.
26. New Museum of Contemporary Art
235 Bowery, at Prince.
The first art museum ever constructed from the ground up in
downtown Manhattan, the New Museum is a home for
contemporary art and an incubator for new ideas. Its top
floor Sky Room offers an exciting panoramic view of the
neighborhood.
27. Sara Delano Roosevelt Park
Between Houston and Canal and Forsyth and Chrystie.
Seward Park
Named for philanthropist and Presidential mother
Sara Delano Roosevelt in 1934, the park remains a
vibrant common ground for LES residents. The park
offers playing surfaces for several sports, including
tai chi and roller skating.
28. Seward Park Library 192 East Broadway.
Constructed with funds donated by Andrew Carnegie
in 1909, this library was so popular that its hours
ranged well into the night due to heavy demand. It
even had a rooftop reading area to accommodate the
many people looking for a quiet space to read.
Courtesy of NYPL
Sender Jarmulowsky
29. Seward Park 192 East Broadway, at Essex.
When it opened in 1903, Seward Park had the first
permanent, municipally built playground in the USA.
At that time, the concept of children’s play was novel
and many kids worked in the city’s teeming
sweatshops. The Park is named for William Henry
Seward, an American statesman, perhaps most
famous for arranging the 1867 purchase of Alaska.
This bargain, once denounced as “Seward’s folly,”
inspired playground equipment. See if you can find
the Alaskan seals and a husky named Togo. Today,
having undergone a renovation, Seward Park is one
of the most popular areas for families in the
neighborhood.
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Courtesy of MAES
Sara Delano Roosevelt Park
Courtesy of NYPL
Chinese Immigrants
30. Beth Hamedrash Hagadol
60 Norfolk, between Grand and Broome.
Built in 1852 as a Baptist church, this gothic revival
building was purchased in 1885 by congregants who
had recently broken away from the congregation
that formed Eldridge Street. It was one of the largest
synagogues on the LES.
Courtesy of MOCA
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31. Bialystoker Synagogue 7 Willett Street, off Grand.
Built in 1826, the federal-style building originally housed a
Methodist church and served as a stop on the Underground
Railroad. Go inside and discover the old ladder leading to
an attic where slaves hid during the Civil War.
32. Buddhist Temple Association
20 Eldridge, between Canal and Division.
Look closely at the materials used in this building. Notice the
red ironwork revealing its past use as a firehouse in the mid
1800s. Since then, it has housed a wagon wheels workshop
studio, jewelry and eyeglass shop, and a temple.
33. Church of Grace To Fujianese
133 Allen, between Rivington and Delancey.
This church is located on the former site of a municipal bath
house built in 1905. At that time, many of the crowded
tenement buildings housing immigrants did not have running
water. Imagine having to leave your home to wash.
34. Eldridge Street Synagogue
12 Eldridge, between Canal and Division.
Eldridge Street is the first great house of worship built by
eastern European Orthodox Jews in America. This National
Historic Landmark was recently restored to former grandeur.
Make sure to explore its exhibit of the neighborhood and
discover how the LES looked 100 years ago.
35. First Roumanian American Congregation
89 Rivington, between Orchard and Ludlow.
The red-brick synagogue that used to stand on this empty lot
was condemned and dismantled after its roof collapsed in
2007. You can still see where its doorway once stood on the
very right side and its Talmud Torah religious school on the
left side of the adjacent building.
37. Kehila Kedosha Janina
280 Broome, between Eldridge and Allen.
Built in 1927 by a congregation whose members had
emigrated from the town of Janina, Greece in 1906,
this is the only Romaniote synagogue in the Western
hemisphere.
38. Mahayana Temple Buddhist Association
133 Canal between Chrystie and Bowery.
Within this pagoda guarded by lions, lies the largest
Buddha in the city, a behemoth 16-foot gold statue.
For a dollar donation, you can get your very own
fortune forecast, rolled and rubber-banded.
St. Augustine’s Church
Courtesy of NYPL
Eldridge Street Synagogue
38. Mesivta Tifereth Jerusalem (MTJ)
145 East Broadway, between Rutgers and Pike.
Chartered in 1907, MTJ attained great distinction
beginning in the mid-1940s, as its head, Rabbi Moshe
Feinstein, became one of the most important Talmud
sages in America. Its name is written in both Hebrew
and English characters on the building’s facade.
39. St. Augustine's Episcopal Church
Courtesy of Century Magazine
St. Teresa’s Church
290 Henry, between Montgomery and Jackson.
Built in 1829, this church’s design included two slave
galleries at the rear of the balcony on each side of
the main tower, providing testimony to the African
experience in New York.
40. St. Teresa's Church
141 Henry, between Rutgers and Pike.
There has been a church on this site since 1798. The
current building, built in 1841 as a Presbyterian
church, has been used as a Catholic church since 1863.
Today, masses are held in all three of the area's main
languages: English, Spanish, and Chinese.
Courtesy of Library of Congress
Beth Hamedrash Hagadol
Courtesy of Public Domain
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When this image was taken in 1902, the LES was considered to be the most crowded place on Earth!
Walk along Hester Street, pictured below.
How does this historic image compare with what you see today?
In what ways have the streets remained the same? How do they differ?
Imagine what the streets might look like in another hundred years.
Use the space below to draw or write about the street scene circa 2100.
A Scene in the Ghetto, Hester Street, 1902. © Falk
A scene in Hester Street, circa 2100. ©
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EXPLORE THE NEIGHBORHOOD WITH ALL YOUR SENSES!
Note what you see, hear, touch, smell, and taste around the neighborhood.
I SEE
I HEAR
I TOUCH
I SMELL
I TASTE
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COMPARE THE LOWER EAST SIDE TO YOUR NEIGHBORHOOD!
What elements are the same? Which differ?
NEIGHBORHOOD
LOWER EAST SIDE
WHERE YOU LIVE
ELEMENT
Buildings
Restaurants
Stores
Signs
Parks and Trees
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